John Obi Mikel (10) and Victor Moses react to the Super Eagles' 1-2 loss to Argentina at their St Petersburg clash at the 2018 World Cup.

Despite the fact that all African teams fell in the first round hurdles, some of the fans that came here for the tournament are still very much around. Some smart ones exploited the relaxed atmosphere to cross borders into some of the countries around Russia. Several others with no intentions to go back home have been making moves to hook Russian babes with the prospects of getting papers to stay.

A Nigerian who has been resident in Moscow told THISDAY that Russia is not like any other European city where asylum is easy. "For you to get papers here, it takes more than getting hooked to a Russian girl here.

Asylum is even more difficult as it is very rare for the authorities to grant someone coming from Africa. It may take years and even then, only the President has the power to grant that." Given the scenario painted by this Nigerian who schooled here and has been living in the Russian capital city for more than 20 years, it remains to be seen how these our brothers will survive here.

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